Takeaways: Sharks' coach gets defensive about power play

SAN JOSE — The post-trade buzz faded Sunday as the Sharks lost their first game since they acquired Evander Kane.

After beating the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks by a combined score of 12-4 last week, the Sharks learned they’re still fallible in the wake of Kane’s addition, getting their three-game point streak snapped by a desperate Columbus Blue Jackets squad that’s fighting for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The loss allowed the Anaheim Ducks to sneak within a point of the Sharks (35-22-9) for second place in the Pacific Division.

Get Sharks news in your inbox. Sign up now for the free Sharks Report newsletter.

Advertisement

Here’s what we learned as the Sharks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Blue Jackets (33-28-5) at SAP Center.

1. The Sharks failed to match the Blue Jackets urgency.

After winning a pair of pond hockey games against the Oilers and Blackhawks, the Sharks faced a playoff-like test with the Blue Jackets in town Sunday.

The Sharks racked up 12 goals in two games last week by exploiting the loose play of a couple teams that are out of the playoff race, getting into open ice, using their speed and scoring off the rush. Against the hard-nosed Blue Jackets, the Sharks needed to play a simpler game, earning their ice by the inch, winning battles and making things happen around the net.

The less-than-idea ice conditions at the Tank Sunday only increased the urgency to play chip-and chase hockey.

Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation.

Unfortunately, the Sharks figured this out after the Blue Jackets jumped ahead 3-0 by 5:32 of the second. The Sharks lethargy over the first 25 minutes even forced head coach Pete DeBoer to pull goalie Martin Jones after the Blue Jackets third goal in an effort to give his team a jolt.

“They broke out too easy and we didn’t. They forechecked harder on us,” Logan Couture said. “We were a little slow getting to pucks. We just didn’t look like our quick selves. We’ve been playing fast the last few games.

“We looked slow tonight.”

The Sharks eventually kicked things into gear at 18:22 of the middle period when Joonas Donskoi scored his second goal in 23 games by redirecting a point shot from Dylan DeMelo. Kane, who picked an assist on the Sharks first goal, made it a one-goal game at 10:04 of the third, recording his first as a Shark by burying a feed from Joe Pavelski on the rush.

But the Blue Jackets eventually iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute of regulation.

“I don’t think we had the same urgency level as they did,” Kane said, adding: “They have a really good skating back end. You have to put pucks in smart areas in order to get it back and then you have to bring your skating legs because their dmen skate as good as any forwards, if not better.

“Late in the second period, we started to do that. We put pucks in the right places. We broke down their defense by getting pucks toward the net. You saw the results.”

2. Pete DeBoer gets defensive about Sharks power play.

Usually when DeBoer gets red faced with reporters, it means their questions are hitting too close to the truth.

On Jan. 18, blew up at a question about whether Martin Jones was playing through an injury. Last week, the suggestion that the Sharks might need to add an extra piece at the trade deadline set him off. Now, he’s taking offense to questions about the power play and its confidence level.

With another goose egg Sunday, the power play (0 for 4) is now 0 for 28 over the Sharks last 12 games after it executed at a 29 percent clip in its previous 34 games.

“Did it look not confident?” the Sharks coach bristled. “You’ve got to give the goalie on the other team some credit. I’ll be the first guy to stand here if we can’t get into the zone or we can’t get set up. You’ve got to look at it realistically. We generated some real quality looks.”

DeBoer isn’t blowing smoke. Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky made a pair of electrifying saves on the Sharks first power play attempt in the opening frame, getting a toe on Tomas Hertl’s redirection of Couture’s shot and gloving Kane’s snapper from the side wall while he was down on his knees.

What DeBoer is downplaying is how special teams can swing the momentum of a game. The Blue Jackets jumped ahead 1-0 just 10 seconds after their first kill and they scored their second less than a minute after the Sharks failed to convert their third first period chance with the man advantage.

The Sharks are used to getting their mojo from the power play. Right now, it’s sucking the life out of their even strength game.

“It’s tough,” Couture said. “You want to at least get one when you get three power plays in the first period.”

3. Hertl needs to regain his pre-injury edge.

Hertl’s breakthrough performance this season is among the reasons why the Sharks reached the trade deadline in a playoff position despite Joe Thornton’s absence (right knee) and Patrick Marleau’s departure in free agency.

The Sharks will need him to regain his edge down the stretch.

Since his return from a right-hand injury on Feb. 22, he’s struggled to assert himself, recording just one point, in six games.

As a result, DeBoer dropped Hertl down to the third line and pulled him off the power play all together in the third period Sunday.

Hertl insisted that the injury isn’t still nagging him.

“It’s not (the) injury,” Hertl said. “Today I deserved it, benching in third. It wasn’t my game. I was struggling. I shouldn’t have even played in (the) third because I could do nothing all game.

“I have to step up and play like (I did) before the injury.”

DeBoer said he isn’t “worried” about Hertl’s struggles in the wake of his injury suffered on Feb. 13.

“It’s one night. He recognized it,” the Sharks coach said. “That’s the nice thing about him, he’s honest with himself. He’ll fix it, he’ll be back next game.”